TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR was a key part of Chris Hughton’s life for more years than any of the other clubs he went on to serve.
While Brighton fans will always appreciate his four-year tenure taking the Seagulls from the Championship into the Premier League, he spent the first 19 years of his playing career at Spurs as well as 14 and a half years as a coach (and occasional caretaker manager) at White Hart Lane.
Hughton joined Tottenham’s youth set-up at the tender age of 13 in 1971, as he recounted in an In The Spotlight feature in the Spurs matchday programme for their September 2024 game v Brentford. It was the year the club won the League Cup captained by Alan Mullery with a side that included Phil Beal, Joe Kinnear and Martin Chivers, who scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Hughton attended inner city school St Bonaventure’s in Newham, many years later attended by loanee striker Chuba Akpom who told Andy Naylor in an exclusive for the Argus: “When I was in school there used to be pictures of the gaffer there. The kids used him like an inspiration and motivation. I did as well: seeing someone come from the same area and the same school as me to become such a big and successful person.”
Other footballing St Bon’s alumni included Hughton’s brother Henry, John Chiedozie, Jermaine Defoe and Martin Ling (briefly an Albion player under Micky Adams).
Hughton’s progress as a youngster took a slightly unconventional turn when, at 16, Spurs told him he hadn’t done quite enough to be taken on as an apprentice.
“There was still that chance, though – a small window of opportunity,” he recounted to coachesvoice.com. “So, while I started a four-year apprenticeship as a lift engineer, I stayed on at Tottenham as an amateur.
“That meant working all day, then on two nights a week getting the bus or train to the training ground – apart from those days when I ended up working late and just couldn’t get there in time. Then, on Saturdays, I’d play for the youth team. I lived that life for two years.”
Football-wise, by the age of 18 Hughton had done enough to persuade Spurs to offer him a professional contract – but he didn’t want to cut short his lift engineer apprenticeship, so he turned them down but continued playing for the club as an amateur.
“I was fortunate,” he said. “My window of opportunity stayed open, and at 20 I finally became a professional footballer for Tottenham… as well as a qualified lift engineer.”
It was during Keith Burkinshaw’s eight-year reign as manager that Hughton enjoyed most of his success as a Spurs player, usually filling the left-back spot of a side that won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the 1984 UEFA Cup.
“It was a period that had a big impact on me, and on who I became,” said Hughton, who played alongside the likes of World Cup winners Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa, the gifted Glenn Hoddle and goalkeeper Ray Clemence, and Steve Perryman, “the best captain I played under”.
Born in Forest Gate, east London, on 11 December 1958, it might have been West Ham territory but it was Spurs that took on trial a group of five lads who had been playing in the district of Newham side.
“I ended up staying there,” he told the Argus in a November 2017 interview. “My upbringing was different. I was always playing. Although my dad is very much now a football fan, I didn’t have a family background of football.
“I think I went to West Ham once, a family friend took me. I was a football fanatic but always playing. I never really had an allegiance to any team. But I’m very much a West Ham lad.”
Hughton qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland – home of his mother Christine. His father Willie was Ghanaian (Hughton later became that country’s coach).
He made his debut for Eire in 1979 and won 53 caps over the next 12 years, including playing in three matches at the 1988 Euros. Although he was in the 1990 World Cup squad, he didn’t play any matches. He was the Republic’s assistant manager to Brian Kerr between 2003 and 2005.
Being of mixed race, Hughton suffered plenty of racial abuse both from the terraces and from opposition players, as he revealed in an interview with broadcaster Ian ‘Moose’ Abrahams for whufc.com in November 2023.
“You suffered it by yourself because you were the only one who was receiving that type of abuse, you were the only one that almost understood it, and being the only black player in the team you took all of that on your own shoulders,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to think back now and comprehend how you coped with that, and the coping mechanism is because firstly you are used to it, and secondly your mentality had to be that you’re better than that. You generally suffered by yourself.”
Hughton continued: “There were numerous times over that period, especially in the reserve team, and yes, even in the first team that I suffered racial abuse [from opposing players].
“I reacted to it, but I knew the boundaries, because you knew if you went too far you were going to get sent off.”
A knee injury at the age of 28 was a signal for Hughton to begin to consider what he might do once his playing days were over, and he did some coaching sessions at soccer schools. “I started to think this was what I wanted to do,” he said.
When he was no longer guaranteed a starting berth at Spurs, Hughton moved across London to the club closest to where he grew up: West Ham. Hughton signed for the Hammers initially on loan in November 1990 to cover for the injured Julian Dicks, and then permanently on a free transfer.
“My parents still live in Upton Park, so I was born and brought up very close to the stadium,” Hughton recalled in a November 2017 Argus interview.
Signed by Billy Bonds, he was with the Hammers for just over a year, helped them win promotion from the old Division Two in 1990-91and played a total of 43 matches (plus one as a sub).
“It was a really enjoyable period of time,” he said. “Billy Bonds was the manager. He was not only a great manager but a great individual.”
In February 1992, he moved on a free transfer to then Third Division Brentford, whose squad included Neil Smillie and Bob Booker. Graham Pearce was a coach. They won the divisional title but the following season Hughton’s troublesome knee forced him to retire at the age of 34.
“By the time I signed for Brentford at the age of 33 I was certain that I wanted to coach,” Hughton told coachesvoice.com. “I was taking far more interest in things like tactics and the thinking behind training sessions. Brentford’s manager at the time, Phil Holder, even allowed me to take a few sessions.”
Hughton added: “It actually set me up for my coaching career as I learned a lot in that time.”
After he’d called time on his playing days, he didn’t have to wait long for an opportunity to open up for him as a coach because his former teammate Ardiles, who’d not long since taken over as Spurs manager, invited him to help out back at White Hart Lane.
“We’d been good friends since our days playing for the club, so he knew all about my coaching aspirations and brought me in as the under-21s’ and reserve team coach,” Hughton explained. “I’ve always been very grateful to him for giving me that first opportunity.”
For the first year or so, he worked alongside the former West Ham player Pat Holland, who he described as “an excellent tactical and technical coach”.
Hughton explained it was a period in which he discovered how to transition from being a player to a coach. “As much as you’ve been part of a changing room thousands of times as a player, taken part in countless training sessions and listened to more team talks than you can remember, none of those things have ever been your responsibility before.
“In that respect, football is no different to any other aspect of life. If someone has spent years working on a shop floor, then moves up to management and has to govern a group of people, they have to make that same transition. It’s not easy.”
As managers came and went, Hughton remained on the coaching staff. After Ardiles came Gerry Francis and Christian Gross. Hughton was in caretaker charge for six matches before George Graham took over from Gross. Next in the hot seat was Glenn Hoddle, followed by Jacques Santini and then Martin Jol.
“Such a long apprenticeship might not be for everyone and some can go straight from player to manager at a young age, but I wouldn’t have been ready,” said Hughton.
“There was always something new to learn and experience. It was exciting to see what each new manager would be like, how he would involve me and what I would learn.
“The club could easily have said, ‘Now that the manager has left we won’t be keeping you on’, but they showed faith in my abilities and, in return, I provided some continuity.”
Hughton was assistant manager to Jol and said: “We had three years together, and in terms of league positions they were successful ones.”
By the time he was shown the door at Spurs, along with Jol, after a difficult start to the 2007-08 season, he felt ready to become a manager in his own right.
But before that happened, a different proposition emerged when Kevin Keegan asked him to become first team coach at Newcastle United.
“I’d spent my entire playing and coaching career in London, but any apprehension I felt at relocating to another part of the country was outweighed by the excitement,” he told leadersinperformance.com.
“I was going to a legendary club with an incredible tradition, rich history and great fan base and I was going to assist Kevin Keegan. I learned a lot from him during our time together, especially from his strengths in man-management.”
• What happened next in Hughton’s career is the subject of my next blog post. Thanks for reading!
In parallel lines 